Reading Test: What Is High Protein Diet?

Level B2

Imagine your body as a machine that needs building blocks to stay strong and work well. These building blocks are called proteins. A high protein diet is when you give your body more of these building blocks than usual.

When you eat this way, your muscles and tissues get the fuel they need to grow and repair, especially if you exercise. Protein also helps you feel full longer, so you don’t get hungry as quickly. You get protein from foods like meat, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, nuts, and seeds.

In a high-protein diet, a bigger part of your meals comes from protein, usually about 20 to 30 percent of what you eat each day. This helps your body stay strong and recover faster after activity. But remember, if someone has kidney problems, too much protein can be harmful, so balance and plenty of water are important.

In short: a high protein diet is like giving your body extra building blocks to stay strong, healthy, and full of energy.

Read the following text. For questions 1-7 choose the option (a, b or c) which best completes them according to the text. 

The Principles of the New High Protein Diet

This diet is the most effective way of losing body fat. Remember, if we go on a starvation diet, we lose weight but not much fat. In starvation mode, we use up our energy stores of carbohydrate first (in the form of a substance called glycogen). However, the body can store only a little glycogen, and this is used up within two days. Then we start breaking down fat and protein. But we can’t afford to lose body proteins: our muscle mass decreases, we become noticeably weaker, and our immunity is compromised because the lack of protective immunoglobulin proteins means we are subject to an increased risk of infection. Not good!

Glycogen is a stored form of glucose (sugar) in the body. It is a large, branched polysaccharide made up of many glucose molecules linked together. It is mainly stored in the liver and muscles. In the liver, glycogen helps maintain blood sugar levels by releasing glucose when needed (for example, between meals or during fasting). In the muscles, glycogen provides quick energy during physical activity.

In short, glycogen is the body’s energy reserve, storing glucose so it can be used quickly when the body needs fuel.

Sure, we look slimmer, and we certainly weigh less, but we are weaker and becoming unhealthy. There is no point in dieting if it’s going to make us ill. And, of course, because we need our muscles, when we even slightly stray from the diet, our bodies immediately rebuild muscle and we regain all of the ‘lost’ weight very quickly. Yet another diet fails – because it was never going to work in the first place. And we have succeeded in making ourselves considerably less healthy in the process. Not only have we gone through a period of reduced immunity and a lack of proteins, minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and other essential nutrients, there is evidence that so-called ‘yo-yo’ dieting of this nature is detrimental to health in the longer term.

Quite simply, we are going to virtually eliminate all refined carbohydrates and sugars (which are also carbohydrates), leaving us with a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet. Of course, you may have heard of high-protein diets before, and they all failed because the carbohydrates were not restricted. Remember, unless you switch off the mechanism to make fat, and switch on the mechanism to burn fat, it is very difficult to lose body fat. On this diet, you will be cutting out virtually all refined carbohydrates so that body fat is burned preferentially, to provide energy. Sugar, starch, white flour, cakes, bread, pasta and rice are the usual culprits. These foods have very little nutritional value and, what’s more, can cause medical and fat problems. Of course, there are forms of these carbohydrates – such as wholemeal rice, wholemeal bread and wholemeal pastas – that do have nutritional benefits and which you can reintroduce later, but in the initial stage of the diet, you have to reduce all carbohydrates, to switch on the fat-burning mechanism.

You should definitely cut out all pasta, rice, cakes and biscuits, and stick to a maximum of one slice of bread per day. Your body will rapidly adjust to a healthy, high protein, low-carbohydrate diet, and will burn body fat. The bottom line is that you don’t need refined carbohydrates and processed sugars. These foods provide energy and no other form of essential nutrition – and when you eat more than the energy you can use immediately the rest is stored as fat. One point to be aware of is that refined carbohydrates can appear in many unexpected sources. You probably know that bread, cakes, pastries, biscuits, pies, pizzas, potato crisps and fried potato chips all contain refined carbohydrates, but pasta, rice, most breakfast cereals, most tinned foods, many pre-packaged foods, tinned vegetables, tinned soups, and prepared sauces do as well… In fact the list goes on and on. Virtually all ‘fast foods’ contain very high proportion of refined carbohydrates – as well as hydrogenated fats – and if your diet is high in refined carbohydrates and hydrogenated fats, you will definitely put on weight. If you’re worried that by cutting out refined carbohydrates you’ll have virtually no foods left to choose from, fear not. In fact, high-protein and nutritious foods such as meat, poultry, fish, shellfish and eggs are all open to you, along with vegetables, cheese, spices and herbs, from which you can easily produce delicious, healthy and quick meals. You’ll be relieved to hear that you don’t have to live on a diet of lettuce and tomato. On the contrary, you will be eating virtually limitless; quantities of very tasty food complemented by delicious sauces and dressings: in other words, real food!

Refined carbohydrates are carbs that have been processed to remove the natural fiber and nutrients found in whole foods. This makes them quickly digestible, but often less healthy.

Examples: white bread, white rice, pasta made from refined flour; pastries, cakes, cookies, sugary cereals; sugary drinks and sweets.

Hydrogenated fats are fats that have been chemically changed by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils, turning them into solid or semi-solid fats. This process is called hydrogenation. It’s done to increase shelf life of foods and to improve texture and stability (e.g., for spreads, baked goods, and fried foods).

Hydrogenated fats are artificially processed fats that are mostly unhealthy, especially partially hydrogenated ones. Examples in food: margarine, fried fast food, packaged snacks, baked goods.

What about fats in your diet? I’ve advised you to cut out refined carbohydrates and eat a high protein diet, but what about the amount of fat you consume? This is going to seem a strange thing to say, and it’s against all of the dietary advice you’ve been given in the past, but if you follow the principles of this diet carefully, you don’t need to worry about how much fat you’re consuming. No, I have not gone mad, and I’m certainly not advocating a high-fat diet, but most of the ‘bad’ fats are actually integrated into the sugary, starchy foods you have already excluded, and you will naturally avoid them when you stop eating these foods. So by excluding the refined carbohydrates, you have excluded the ‘bad’ fats from your diet at a single stroke.

Adapted from © The New High Protein Diet by Dr Charles Clark and Maureen Clark – Vermilion

The difference between saturated, unsaturated, and trans fats

Saturated fats are solid at room temperature and mostly come from animal foods like butter, cheese, and meat. Eating too much of it can raise your “bad” cholesterol, so it’s best in moderation.

Unsaturated fats are the heroes of healthy fats. These are mostly from plants and fish, like olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocado, and salmon. They’re usually liquid at room temperature and help lower bad cholesterol while supporting your heart. You can think of them as your body’s good helpers.

Most trans fats come from partially hydrogenated oils found in packaged snacks, baked goods, and fried foods. They’re solid or semi-solid and do serious damage. They raise bad cholesterol, lower good cholesterol, and increase the risk of heart disease. Avoid them as much as possible.

Simple tip:

• favor unsaturated fats

• limit saturated fats

• avoid trans fats as much as possible.

Questions

1.Starvation diets …

A. are good because you lose a lot of fat and proteins.
B. are harmful because of the loss of body proteins.
C. help us reduce muscle mass but without causing further problems.

2. If we fail to follow this starvation diet strictly, …

A. we become really muscular.
B. we become weaker.
C. we put on weight fast again.

3. When people follow a starvation diet, …

A. they become vulnerable to diseases.
B. they put their health at stake on the spot.
C. they run the risk of immediate health problems.

4. In a high protein diet, carbohydrates …

A. are banned, although they are considered beneficial.
B. are used as a primary source of energy.
C. can be consumed only under certain circumstances.

5. The problem with carbohydrates is that …

A. if their intake is not used up what is left turns into fat
B. it is difficult to stop eating them.
C. your body doesn’t adjust easily when you don’t eat them.

6. Following the new high protein diet …

A. you can have/make delicious dishes.
B. you can only eat meat, poultry, fish, shellfish and eggs.
C. you have to weigh all the protein you have.

7. The new high protein diet …

A. does not include any kind of fat.
B. fosters the consumption of sugary foods.
C. prohibits you to have refined carbohydrates